Golf Course Review of Littlestone Golf Club

I love pretty much everything about the intriguing and challenging links
at Littlestone. There is a rustic charm to this most appealing of layouts
where you enjoy all the best traits of seaside golf.

The 18 holes traverse flattish, but naturally undulating linksland, and
provide a fair test of golf with a few surprises thrown in along the way.
The last of these revelations come in the form of a double-whammy at the
16th and 17th – two of the finest holes in the UK, but more on those later.

On my most recent visit to this fine championship links the playing
conditions on a hot, humid and hazy afternoon in early May were more akin to
the height of summer. The fairways were not just starting to brown off, many
of them were frazzled and scorched to a crisp – brilliant stuff! This
produced some of the tightest lies and must make it one of the firmest and
fastest running courses in the country. It’s not surprising that this
stretch of coastline enjoys a unique microclimate that makes it one of the
driest places in Britain.

The green complexes at Littlestone are very good, varied and go about
their business in an unassuming manner. Some of them are mere extensions to
the fairway whilst others are more pronounced. Virtually all of them bleed
into their natural surrounds beautifully though.

I was particularly impressed with the rising fourth, the eighth – where
an approach from the right is favoured – and the glorious 16th which is just
a heavenly hole from start to finish. Here, you must turn the ball from
right-to-left from the tee to give you the best chance of reaching the
cresting green which is located at the end of higher piece of ground and
perhaps favours a fading approach.

It should also be said that the green sites at all four of the short
holes are superb. As a set they are just about as good as any links course
in England. The two-level kidney-shaped sixth, the well-protected ninth and
the 14th, where a necklace of bunkers defends the hole quite superbly, are
all wonderful in both design and visual appeal. Then we have the short 17th
– one of the best green complexes you will ever play to – from an elevated
tee across you fire across a natural valley to a putting surface set into
shallow dunes with sand and slopes to contend with; a real visual feast.

Indeed, it’s as if Littlestone builds to a crescendo throughout the round
which peaks at the 16th and 17th although the 18th is no slouch either. The
opening five holes are good without being exceptional. The two par-three
towards the end of the outward half, which take us to the far end of the
property, raise the bar higher and then as we gradually twist and turn our
way back to the clubhouse the back-nine uses the best of the rolling terrain
to good use and the golf is even more engaging.

In all truth, there’s very little I didn’t like about Littlestone. I’m
not sure the ditch that crosses the second fairway does the hole any favours
and some of the fairways early on are runway flat which is not to my
personal taste. I also thought the 11th with its brilliantly angled and
contorting burn would play far better from the normal white tees as opposed
to the new blue/green tees where it appears that length has been favoured
over strategy and courage.

Mention should also be made of the quality of the greens. On my trip
which also included Royal St. Georges and Royal Cinque Ports the greens at
Littlestone were far superior. They ran quicker and truer (by a long way)
than both the other courses.

This demanding, yet wholly playable, venue is rightly recognised as being
one of the top 100 courses in England and one of the premier links in the
whole of Great Britain & Ireland. Founded in 1888, it has hosted many major
championships and has a long and distinguished history including being a
final Qualifying course for the 2011 Open Championship. Par is 71 and the
yardage tops out at 6,632.

Located between the famous Romney Marsh and the English Channel the
course is just under an hour from the South-East powerhouses of Sandwich and
Deal, plus Prince’s, and less than 30 minutes from Rye. Anyone considering a
visit to this corner of England to play some high quality links golf should
ensure that Littlestone is on their itinerary.